Live Stock Judging Pavilion on Wisconsin State Fair Grounds.

Supt. McKerrow-Mr. True, judg ing of fairs of all kinds as you have seen them, do you think undue stress has been put upon the side of agriculture and live stock production, or too much stress upon the side of entertainment-features horse racing, acrobatic feats, etc., or has it been evenly balanced in general-not talking about one fair, but all fairs. We are citizens of the state and interested in all fairs.

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Mr. Convey-Is the racing feature of the fair as expensive as people think it is to the fair management?

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Mr. True-No, not by any means. The state fair has been severely criticised in some quarters, even by some of the stock papers of Chicago, for the amount of money offered in race purses last year at the state. fair. The fact is, we paid out about $26,500 for first-class racing. was a little interested to follow this up to see what the races actually cost us, and it was less than $5,000. No, races well conducted are not expensive. Men that enter for purses very largely pay their own money in and draw it back again.

Mr. True-I think in the past that too much attention has been given to amusement features, which seems to be a necessity to a certain extent in the early days of any fair. Now a fair that does not pay its premiums and expenses in full, soon comes to be regarded with very little interest, and in order to do this, you have got to enlist the interest of people, you have got to the people there, you have to draw all kinds. I think perhaps in the past there has been a little too much tendency to run amusement features, perhaps too much horse racing. As fairs become stronger, more wealthy, I think this will be regulated to a certain extent. My idea would be that the state should stand more fully back of fairs, Mr. True-I think they are not goso as to enable them to be independ-ing to beat the state by any such ent to a certain extent; they can subterfuge as that. The Auditor of the state in passing upon those ccounts, reduces them strictly to a cash basis. The premium list is required and the premiums paid must correspond with those advertised in the list.

Mr. Jacobs-Under this law, what do you think of the policy adopted by some fairs of doubling their the premiums, and then charging an enget try fee equal to the premiums, 10 got bring their premiums up on the racing alone?

premiums

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then pay their
and
question
penses, and this
of enter-
tainment will not be so much to the
front. The law passed in the last
legislature regulates this matter

somewhat; under the law
now, no
fair can receive state aid upon a
larger amount paid for races and at
tractions of that kind than that
paid for cattle, live stock and ag
ricultural premiums. This is going
to have a tendency to bring the edu-
cational features, the substantial
features, more to the front, and to
serve as a sort of gauge upon the
amusements.

Supt. McKerrow-You mean where they deduct 25 or 50 per cent after the premiums are won?

Mr. Jacobs-Yes, they put it in that they charge that, but in reality they simply deduct it.

Mr. Jacobs-There is another point that has troubled us somewhat; perhaps it would not if we lived in some other county, but we have bad to come in contact with counties that were holding an inter-state fair and were receiving a great deal more state aid than the direct county fairs. Now, don't you believe it would be better to put the counties all on an

equal footing, all fairs on an equ.ul
footing, except the state fair?
Mr. True-I woud say,
put the
fairs all on an equal footing, do not
even except the state fair. The
state fair does not ask special fa
vors. The fact of it is, we are
treated as well as the other fairs.
The other fairs get 40 per cent of
their premiums, while this year we
received $10,000, but at 40 per ceut
of the premiums, etc., we would have
received $16,000.

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Mr. Utter-Isn't it true that the ocation of our fair has something to do with this question of attractions, situated as it is near a large city and dependent upon the patronage ot that large city, rather than upon the agricultural patronage, as in other places?

now

Mr. True That requires a peculiar location. It comes to be more in the nature of an exposition and it may be possible in some cases, as they are carried on in some of the larger cities, but I do not believe it would be feasible for us in this state. You cannot get the farmers to attend more than about two or three days. at the fair, it is all the time they really think they can give to it, and I am inclined to think that one week is all the time we can safely devote to it.

Sut. McKerrow-A few of our state fairs have tried 10 days and two weeks,-tried that plan, notably the Ohio state fair two weeks, the Ilinois state fair days at one time, and two or three others that I have in mind, but they have all dropped back to a week; their experience has not been satisfactory.

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Mr. Bergeman-Would you recommend the assistance of the county board being given to the county fair?

Mr. True-Yes, that has been con sidered. It has been thought that that was fair to all interests, although I think our Board has really given that up quite largely, and as come to prepare its premiums Mr. True I think that is an aawith reference to the interests of ne mirable way to encourage the manstate. You cannot cater in an ag agement of the fair to do good work. ricultural fair to the wishes of a Some counties in the state are do city population. It is better to take ing that, and it seems to me that it the ground that you are working er is a very proper means of supporting the agricultural interests of the state a fair and placing it upon a proper and stand right by it. Get up a good, strong, broad program, suitable alike to city and country.

basis.

Mr. Bergeman--Doesn't it make the population of a county feel a good deal better to assist a fair so it can stand on its own feet without assistance as we do here in Sheboygan? I think this is the tenth year of our fair. We commenced with nothing and the expense of the last fair was $20,000 with less than $2,000 debts. Mr. True-With no aid from the county?

Mr. Bergeman-No, sir.

Mr. True-You have made a remarkably good showing. In my county, Sauk, the county board has never gone beyond giving a certain amount for an educational exhibit.